THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
Photograph by Dr. Franz Stoedtner
MYSTERIOUS NOMADS OF THE WORLD
The Gipsies first appeared in western Europe in 1417, but no tradition exists as to how they
arrived or whence they came. Many Rumanian, Serbian, and Bulgarian ballads are derived
from these wandering troubadours, and Liszt ascribes to them "the origin of Hungarian national
music."
Whenever people from different coun
tries come together-and come together
they must, with increasing frequency
they have to decide upon a method of
intercourse. They may decide upon sev
eral languages, with translations ad in
finitum; they may restrict themselves to
a couple, as in present-day diplomacy;
but they have, first of all, to face the lan
guage question. For them, it is not, as
many Americans think, a curiosity, a fad,
a Utopia; it is an immediate need.
Any one who has attended an inter
national gathering in Europe knows how
tedious the present method is. Before
the war, as many as five languages were
officially recognized: English, French,
German, Italian, and the language of the
country in which the meeting was held.
Speeches were repeated five times-four
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